This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making sausages in a continuous string and separating the string into individual sausages or groups of interconnected sausages.
An apparatus of this type is known from German patent application 31 04 099. In this apparatus, a sausage strand provenient from a stuffing machine is advanced between two endless belts of a conveyor device. Secured to each of the endless belts are squeezer elements meeting one another at the location of the return pulleys to squeeze the sausage strand at respective locations to form a constriction and thereby subdivide the strand into a string of interconnected sausages. Disposed downstream of the conveyor belts is a separating device comprising two parallel drive shafts mounted at spaced locations on opposite sides of the sausage strand for synchronous rotation in opposite directions and disposed substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the sausage string, each drive shaft being provided with two radially projecting separator arms cooperatively meeting one another for the separating operation. The separator arms of one drive shaft are provided with blades, while the separator arms of the other drive shaft are provided with suitable countersupports. For the separating operation the cutting edge of a blade approaches the respective countersupport to thereby cut through the constriction between two sausages. A timing belt connects the endless belts to the drive gear of one of the drive shafts of the separating device, the two drive shafts themselves being operatively interconnected by meshing gears.
In this manner it is ensured that the separator arms revolve in synchronism with the squeezer elements, so that the separation occurs always at the constriction between two sausages. The construction of the separating device in the form of synchronously counterrotating separator arms provided with blades and countersupports results in the advantage that the blades and countersupports move at the same speed as the sausage string, so that the blades and countersupports cooperate with one another in a meshing engagement with respective constrictions between two sausages.
In apparatus of this type, when it is desired to vary the length of the sausages or the number of sausages in a group thereof, the mechanical alterations and adjustments required to achieve this are rather difficult and onerous.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus which permits sausages or groups of sausages to be accurately separated irrespective of the length of the sausages, of the number of interconnected sausages and of the sausage conveying speed, without requiring any difficult adjustments or modifications.